


After Drinks

by Faefyre



Series: Happy Hour [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Idiots in Love, M/M, Shooting Guns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:46:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29763975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faefyre/pseuds/Faefyre
Summary: Dave and Spencer get along swimmingly - but Dave is having doubts.
Relationships: Spencer Reid/David Rossi
Series: Happy Hour [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161455
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	After Drinks

**Author's Note:**

> Big <3 to isagel and perclexed. 
> 
> This is the sequel to "Before Drinks", which you should probably read first :)

They make it through exactly one and a half drinks before Spencer tells Dave that he wants him to take him to bed. Naturally, Dave complies, he takes Spencer home to his place and Spencer can barely keep his hands off of him during the car ride. They fall through the door and only make it as far as the couch, their pants already down to their knees, kissing the whole time. Dave lands on top of Spencer and tries to keep his weight off of him, while Spencer reaches down and takes their cocks into his hand. Dave feels dizzy already, he hadn’t dared to expect that this would happen. When it does, he finds he’s unprepared for the force that is Spencer when he wants something, when he stops at nothing to get what he needs, and right now that is Dave. Spencer never looks away from him as he keeps stroking them, and Dave wonders if Spencer is as close as he is when he sees him arching his back slightly, showing his throat in a way that begs to be bitten. When Dave does, Spencer moans and moves his other hand to Dave’s neck, holding him close. 

“Fuck, Dave-” he manages brokenly before he comes, and Dave’s hand shoots down to keep stroking them both when Spencer’s hand falters. Dave is right there a second later, looking down at Spencer as he comes on his stomach, and he can’t remember the last time he was this turned on. 

Spencer smiles at him and says coyly, “I believe I was promised several beds.”

Dave laughs out loud, and shows him the way to the shower. They shower together, staying under the spray for a long time, touching and kissing. As soon as they’re in bed in the master bedroom, Spencer is on top of Dave and kisses him for all he’s worth. Dave loves touching Spencer, loves running his hands over all the different planes of his body. Spencer seems to feel the same, his hands all over Dave, and Dave relishes being touched with desire and passion. Spencer takes Dave’s cock in his hand, and just like that, Dave is ready to fly apart. He manages to hold back a few minutes for decorum’s sake, but in the end he can’t escape Spencer’s hands and eyes on him and comes with a shout, arching his back off of the bed. 

When Dave gets his brain power back and actually looks at Spencer again, he is kneeling over him, stroking himself, easily the most gorgeous thing Dave has seen in a long while. As soon as their eyes meet, Spencer gasps, his strokes speeding up, and Dave just has time to say, “Let go, come on me,” and Spencer gets in two more strokes and comes with his head thrown back. Dave can just stare as spurt after spurt of come lands warmly on his stomach. 

Spencer all but falls down to lie next to him, and Dave watches him catch his breath, running his hand through Spencer’s hair. 

“I’ll just go clean up” he tells Spencer, and Spencer hums and smiles. 

While he’s washing quickly, Dave wonders what will come next. The age difference, as little as they both seem to care about it, worries him. He’s not much into casual encounters anymore, but when Spencer asked him for a drink, all he could think about was that if he only got one chance to taste him, he would bloody well take it. He couldn’t not. Just like he can’t not now. Dave thinks that Spencer is the one making decisions in their relationship, and he’s just along for the ride, but what a ride it has turned out to be. Surely sooner or later Spencer will grow tired of it, of the same thing that is giving him a thrill now. Dave doesn’t intend on getting hurt, he doesn’t suppose that this will last long enough for them to become especially attached to one another. 

*************

A week later, they go to the National Gallery of Art together where Spence is in his element, gesticulating and explaining a myriad of topics that aren’t covered in the guide, a gorgeous smile never leaving his face. Dave would have liked to kiss him there and then, and after the impressionists, he can’t stand it anymore and does. Spencer gives a low moan and fully melts into the kiss in a way that makes Dave go weak in the knees. Dave whispers, “I want to take you home,” into his ear, and Spencer all but drags him out of the museum to the car. 

Dave drives them home, constantly just a little bit over the speed limit. They’re quiet, until Spencer says, in a soft voice, “I really want you inside me.” Dave holds his breath and tries not to drive the car into the ditch. He risks a short glance at Spencer who looks as though he has just declared that he likes apples better than oranges, and shakes his head. 

“Let me get us home in one piece first, okay?” 

“Okay,” Spencer says, as though nothing has happened, snuggles down into the leather seat and watches the trees go by. 

When they get home, Dave parks the car and Spencer climbs out and it’s like someone flipped his switch. He’s in Dave’s space before he can take a step, and kisses him fiercely. Dave tries to object but decides otherwise when Spencer moans and his tongue tangles against Dave’s. They somehow make it to the door, and Dave scrambles to open it while Spencer mutters in his ear, “I can’t help it, I just want you.” Dave has never gotten hard so quickly, and against all odds they actually make it to the bedroom. 

Once there, Spencer makes a beeline for the nightstand, getting out lube and condoms. Dave starts taking his shirt off, and Spencer is out of his clothes lightning fast. He helps Dave with his jeans and sighs happily when they are finally naked. 

Before Dave knows it they’re on the bed and kissing again, Spencer moving below him to get more friction against his cock. Dave groans at the feeling of Spencer’s cock sliding against his, and if Spencer meant what he said, they really have to stop this before it’s too late. 

“Hey,” Dave says softly, putting his weight on one elbow and cupping Spencer’s cheek. “Tell me what you want.”

Spencer smiles, one of those smiles that Dave can’t help but return, and says, “You. Inside me. Now.”

Dave takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, in the hopes of calming down - nope, not happening, he decides, so it’s just as well that Spencer reaches around him for the lube and holds it out to him. 

He takes it, and starts to prepare Spencer. He can’t believe how tight Spencer is, how he clenches around his finger, but Spencer is as good as writhing under him, so Dave doesn’t think there’s any pain involved. 

“Dave?” Spencer asks breathlessly, and Dave stops what he’s doing at once.

“Yeah?”

“Talk to me, please.” Spencer’s eyes are trained on his, and Dave swallows. “I just want to hear your voice. Please.” 

There is this thing Dave has about Spencer begging, it’s like a magic trick that makes him do whatever Spencer wants. Very willingly. 

“Okay,” Dave says, “tell me if this hurts.” He enters Spencer with two fingers, and Spencer moans, “No, is good.”

“Good. I want to make you feel good, caro, so you have to tell me if there’s any pain.” He crooks his fingers just so and Spencer’s back arches off the bed. Dave grins. “Yes, good,” he whispers.

“Oh God, Dave, again, please!” Spencer begs, and Dave replies with another nudge to Spencer’s prostate and says, “I love doing this to you.” 

Three fingers now, and Spencer bears down on him, breathing heavily. “So good, Spencer, so eager,” Dave murmurs, and Spencer gasps. 

He decides that this is enough preparation, and pulls the condom over his cock while Spencer watches. When he has lubed himself up, Dave presses the tip of his cock lightly against Spencer’s hole and looks down at him. He makes a gorgeous picture, wild hair and blown pupils, and Dave can’t believe that this is for him. He presses into Spencer carefully, watching Spencer bite his lip, trying to get accustomed to the fullness. 

He closes his eyes for a second and tells Spencer, “I can’t believe how _tight_ you are for me,” and Spencer groans and puts his legs around Dave’s hips, trying to get him to move faster. 

“Give me a second, kid,” Dave gasps, and he stops dead in his tracks when he realizes what he just called Spencer. He had promised himself not to let that happen during sex, but he can see how Spencer holds his breath and moves a hand to his cock, so if it doesn’t faze him - Dave moves on, sliding deeper into Spencer, and murmurs, “Yes, take all of it,” making Spencer moan. 

He clenches around Dave when Dave hits his prostate, and Dave could come just like that. He holds back, and when Spencer relaxes, he moves again, pulling out and sinking into him.

Spencer’s breaths are coming hard and fast, he’s stroking his cock steadily and when Dave is all the way inside him he cranes his neck to catch Dave’s lips with his. “Please, Dave, harder, I can take it,” he breathes against Dave’s lips after kissing him, and “Fuck!” bursts out of Dave at the words. Before he knows it, he is slamming back into Spencer, and when he sees the look of bliss on his face, he doesn’t stop. He pounds Spencer into the mattress, and when Spencer’s hand on his hip leaves bruises and Spencer doesn’t stop moaning, he thinks that he wants to do this forever. 

“I need you to come on my cock,” he gasps, and Spencer groans and, miraculously, comes as though Dave just had to say the word. Dave is utterly shattered when Spencer clenches around him, he can hear sounds he’s sure he’s never made before, and he comes for so long that he crashes down on Spencer in the end, unable to hold himself up any longer. 

***********************

Dave is amazed at how well they fit together. He honestly forgets all about age gaps when he’s with Spencer, and amazingly enough it’s not just the sex. They’re having fun. It’s the most fun Dave has had in a long time and he savors it. It turns out Spencer is actually a passable cook - by Dave’s standards - and Dave loves adding to his skills. He notices Spencer is hesitant about cooking, that he has a hard time finding joy in it. 

So, after dinner, when they are relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine, Dave says, “By the way, if you don’t want to cook some day, you know I’m happy to do it on my own, right?”

Spencer takes a deep breath and takes a sip of wine, and Dave knows he has struck a nerve without meaning to. 

“I like cooking with you,” Spencer says slowly, as though he has trouble finding the right words. “It just - it reminds me of things.”

Dave takes his hand without thinking and intertwines their fingers. He finds it’s often best to just be quiet, even though it’s hard. 

Spencer gives him a quick look and glances down into his wine glass again. “I learnt how to cook early. The basics. It was - if I hadn’t done it, there wouldn’t have been food. We couldn’t live off sandwiches - well, of course we could have, but I researched that nutrition is one of the basics that are important to get right, along with sleep for example, in someone with mental illness. So I learnt to cook.” He shrugs his shoulders. “It’s why I do it so rarely today, it reminds me of when my mom was at her worst.”

Dave is stunned by this, stunned that something as simple and joyful as cooking can have this kind of an impact, and then he feels stupid about being surprised because he knows how trauma works, but dammit, it hurts to have someone as precious as Spencer - whoa. He doesn’t know when that happened. There’s no time to think about it right now, because Spencer is staring into his glass again, and Dave desperately wants to magic a smile back on his face. 

“Look,” Dave says softly, and Spencer’s eyes are drawn to him. “If the cooking makes you uncomfortable, I’m so sorry, Spencer. I meant it, I love doing it, and I can do it on my own no problem when you are here.”

Spencer gives him a small smile and says, “I know that. Thank you. It’s - I like doing it with you, though. I like learning from you, and I like when we do things together.”

Dave squeezes Spencer’s hand and breathes more easily when Spencer squeezes back. “That’s good. I like cooking with you, too. Just - if it’s ever too much, please tell me. I know I’m, well, I enjoy it a lot, so I guess I can be a bit overwhelming.”

Spencer smiles for real this time, and says quietly, “I love that you enjoy it. It gives me joy to watch you, and to do it with you. I promise I’ll tell you when it’s too much.”

“Good. And if you ever want to talk about that time, I’m here to listen.”

Spencer scoots over on the couch without letting go of his hand and kisses him softly. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Dave whispers against Spencer’s lips and kisses him again. 

They sit cuddled up, Spencer’s head against Dave’s shoulder, and watch tv. After a while, Dave notices that Spencer has fallen asleep. He can’t help but smile. He makes adorable little snores, his hair tickling Dave’s neck. Dave wouldn’t have it any other way. 

He thinks about how this was about a few instances of good sex - the whole thing has totally gotten away from him, and he has no idea when that happened. He wonders if he should take a step back, but how is he supposed to do that when he just promised Spencer he’d be there for him - a promise he fully intends to keep - and anyway, he just enjoys Spencer. It’s as easy as that. The sex is fantastic, but this, the quiet moments, are all kinds of wonderful. He didn’t know what he had been missing, and now he doesn’t quite know how to make do without it.

******************

When Spencer’s birthday comes along, Dave wants to get him something special. He doesn’t much care what it is or how much it costs, he just wants to see that bright light in Spencer’s eyes, the one he has been witness to only a few times.

In the end, he decides on an almost mint first edition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s _A Study in Scarlet_ , and Spencer actually gasps when he unwraps it. 

He looks at Dave for a moment, a smile on his lips that is mirrored in his eyes, and says, “You know how I said that I don’t like when you spend money on me?”

“Yeah -“ Dave starts to explain, but Spencer interrupts him, softly, “Sometimes I do.”

Dave can’t help but smile back at him and feels like a bloody teenager. Spencer puts the book on the table, gently, turns to Dave and kisses him not gently at all. 

They have an hour before Spencer’s birthday outing with the team, and Spencer spends it by dragging Dave to the bedroom, pulling his jeans and boxers down to his ankles, and giving him a blowjob he won’t soon forget. 

Dave reciprocates, and teases Spencer until he’s babbling unintelligible curses. There’s nothing, nothing that turns him on as much as reducing Spencer’s amazing mind to monosyllables. Dave smiles around the cock in his mouth and finally swallows, and the noises Spencer makes above him are out of this world. He pulses in Dave’s throat, over and over, until he slumps back onto the bed, breathing hard. 

Dave lies down next to him and runs his hand through Spencer’s hair, waiting for him to calm down. After a few minutes, Spencer leans into his touch and whispers, “Best birthday ever,” and Dave grins smugly. Spencer laughs when he sees it, and pulls Dave towards him for a scorching kiss. 

“We should get going,” he says, licking into Dave’s mouth again, and Dave just hums into the kiss and lets Spencer take the lead. 

They arrive at the bar together, fashionably late, and since Spencer doesn’t seem to mind the looks that gets, Dave decides not to mind either. 

*******************

The longer he is seeing Spencer, or whatever the hell they’re doing, the more he’s thinking about what the consequences will be. He thinks about letting Spencer down gently, letting them grow apart, and the thought makes him break out in a cold sweat. He spends the night calculating how old he will be at any given time in Spencer’s life, and it’s a sobering thought. He knows Spencer is probably having a crush on him, he’s at the mansion almost every night. He doesn’t even want to think about his feelings for Spencer. Dave doesn’t know how to make their relationship a good thing for Spencer, when he has to think about being eighty to Spencer’s fifty one day. Of course he knows that thought is bloody presumptuous, but he can’t get it out of his head. He can’t stand knowing that, one day, he will make Spencer unhappy.

*********************

They have a behavioral criminologist consulting on a case, and Dave can see how he and Spencer hit it off. He’s Spencer’s age, has two PhDs and likes to talk about his interests just as much as Spencer does. Dave can’t help but smile, as always when he sees Spencer in his element, and he might even have given the guy a hint to ask Spencer out. When he’s home alone he’s no longer sure that was such a great idea. It was impulsive, after seeing that the two of them seemed to like each other and after the constant barrage of thoughts in his mind that he will eventually make Spencer unhappy. He misses Spencer fiercely and the thought of someone else’s hands on him makes him feel vaguely sick. It’s someone his age, he keeps repeating to himself. No 28-year gap. Twenty eight years, good god, what are you even doing, echoes through his brain, but then it never feels like there’s any gap at all when Spencer is around. Even when he corrects Dave - 27 years, ten months and seven days - it doesn’t feel like it. 

He’s surprised when Spencer shows up two hours later, sinks into the couch, rests his head on the back of it and groans, “Multiple PhDs ultimately don’t guarantee compatibility,” and he can’t deny that he’s relieved, that part of him is thrilled that Spencer came home, to him, that he won’t have to deal with someone else touching him, kissing him. He shudders. He sits down next to Spencer, runs a hand through his hair, and kisses him like a drowning man. The kiss deepens immediately, and Spencer gives a small whimper that all but undoes Dave. 

He loses no time and unbuttons Spencer’s jeans, still kissing him with all he’s got. He can feel Spencer’s hands doing the same to him, and when he’s finished, Dave breaks the kiss and grabs a condom and lube out of the side table drawer. Since he started seeing Spencer, he has supplies stored literally everywhere. He shrugs out of his jeans and watches Spencer do the same, and when he sits back down, he draws Spencer close until he’s sitting on his lap. 

“Do you want me to ride you?” Spencer asks, moving closer until they’re chest to chest, their cocks rubbing deliciously against each other. Dave can only nod, emphatically, because his brain is already waiting for Spencer’s heat around him, can’t wait to be closer, always closer. Spencer takes the condom, uses it on Dave’s cock and lubes him up. He fingers himself, getting himself ready for Dave, impatiently, his head thrown back and his hand on Dave’s chest. When he finally sinks down on Dave’s cock, they both gasp, and Dave just can’t believe how right it feels to be with Spencer, how good it is to give him everything. He rolls his hips and Spencer moans and starts moving, and god, Dave is so done for. He loves everything about this position, how he can look at Spencer’s face from a slight angle, how he can pull him down with a hand on the back of his neck for more devastating kisses. His other hand finds its way to Spencer’s cock, and the moan Spencer gives him when he starts stroking him is a filthy thing that brings Dave right to the brink. 

Spencer’s heat around him is breathtaking, a living thing that moves and burns and has him entirely in its grasp. He doesn’t care anymore about the noises he makes, he just wants Spencer, wants him to come, to clench around him and milk him until it hurts. He tilts Spencer’s head down and licks into his mouth again, his other hand picking up the pace. Spencer gives quiet moans and gasps, his body curling towards Dave when he hits his prostate. He looks at Dave imploringly, and whines, “Dave, please,” which makes Dave take his mouth with bruising intensity, his hand working Spencer’s cock with sure, fast strokes. Dave tries to hold back, he wants this more than anything to be good for Spencer, and when Spencer’s orgasm hits and he groans and hides his face in Dave’s neck, Dave can feel Spencer’s body contract around his cock, and he comes with a thrust that almost dislodges Spencer from his lap. 

They sit like this for a while, Dave holding Spencer close with a hand on his back and the other on his neck, until Spencer raises his head and kisses him softly. He’s a cuddler after sex, and Dave quietly adores it. Spencer puts his arms around Dave’s neck, unperturbed by the mess he made of Dave’s shirt, and takes a deep breath. He hums between kisses, something Dave has found he does when he’s happy, and the only thing that gets them to move is when Spencer’s stomach rumbles a few minutes later. 

***************

Dave is watching JJ and Spencer talking across the conference table. JJ wants to set Spencer up with a cousin of hers, and Spencer is running out of excuses. It would be amusing, if it didn’t hurt as much as it did - Dave is surprised every time. He’s never had these problems before, not even when he was married. It’s disconcerting, to say the least. He promised himself not to get too attached, to take what was on offer and be happy with it as long as it lasted, but every time that promise is tested, it’s harder not to do the exact opposite. 

Spencer looks at him imploringly, and Dave can’t help it.

“Hey, Spencer, are we still on this weekend for Doctor Who and pizza?”

“Oh!” Spencer says, relief obvious in his voice, “right! Yes, we most definitely are.”

“You’re just no fun, Spence,” JJ laughs and walks out of the room.

Spencer puts his hand on Dave’s arm for a few seconds too long and whispers, “Thank you,” before he leaves, too.

**********************

That weekend, Dave just can’t hold it in anymore. Spencer comes by after lunch, and asks him what is wrong within five minutes. Dave leads the way to the couch, re-thinks when he is almost there and takes a detour to the bar cart to pour himself some scotch. 

“Do you want some?” he asks Spencer over his shoulder. Spencer shakes his head and sits down. Dave does the same, and after a sip of his drink, says, “I need to talk about something.”

“Yes?” Spencer says, hesitatingly.

“I - I think we need to be clear - dammit.” He takes another, rather big, swallow of scotch. Spencer looks at him warily. 

“This thing. You and me. I don’t know what it is. I-” Dave tries. “I will end up hurting you. I don’t want that.” 

“Why would you end up hurting me?” Spencer asks quietly, and Dave counters, “How could I not? There is no future for this. I’m afraid we’re getting too attached, it’s not good for either of us-”

“Whoa,” Spencer interrupts, “one second. Don’t I get to decide for myself if you’re worth potential hurt?”

“I’m not.” Dave says softly, “and we should think about how to not - how to not get attached.”

“Not _get_ attached?” Spencer asks, and Dave knows that tone, knows that there is ice cold fury under the calmness. 

“It would be better for both of us,” Dave tries, and Spencer looks as though he’s going to boil over.

“You don’t get to fucking decide what’s best for me.” Spencer says, his tone positively deadly. 

“No, I guess not. But I have to decide what’s best for me,” Dave says, though all he wants is to beg Spencer’s forgiveness and to continue what they’ve started. 

“Wow,” Spencer breathes, “wow, Dave. And to think I actually thought you were for real.”

“But, kid, we’ve never even talked about being exclusive-” Dave says, and Spencer jumps up from the couch and says, “Don’t call me that. And being exclusive? Are you _kidding_ me? We’ve been together as good as all the time when we’re not at work, for months, and you think we’re _dating_?”

Dave hides his face in his hands and shakes his head. This is going far worse than he imagined, although right now, he doesn’t know how he could ever have believed that this conversation could have gone well. 

“Next time, just write me a letter. You’re in good company,” Spencer spits, and Dave jumps when he hears the door slam shut. 

********************

On Monday, Spencer doesn’t show up for work. When Dave tentatively asks Hotch about it, he says, one eye on Dave and one on his paperwork, “He called in sick. Some bug or other.”

Dave closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, he has Hotch’s full attention. “What’s going on, Dave?”

“I - that might be my fault,” he says carefully.

“That Reid caught a cold?” Hotch’s eyebrow is all the way up to his hairline. 

Dave smiles humorlessly. “I doubt that’s why he called in. He didn’t show because he knew I’d be here.”

“Ah,” Hotch says, understanding dawning in his eyes. “Are you sure you want to discuss this here?”

“I’m very sure I don’t,” Dave says. “Do you have time to come over tonight? I could use a friend.”

“Of course,” Hotch says softly, and Dave is tremendously thankful. “Should I bring anything?”

“Nah. We can order in when we’re hungry,” Dave says, knowing full well that that is way out of the ordinary, normally he always cooks for the two of them. 

“Oh, okay.” Hotch seems to take this in stride. “I’ll come by at eight?”

“Sure,” Dave says, and on the way back to his office, his eyes are drawn to the empty seat in the bullpen.

*************************

When he comes home from work, he sits down on the couch and puts his feet on the table. Hotch should show up in a few minutes, and he’ll wait with the scotch until he can offer him some. He can’t believe what a mess he made of things. How could he not have foreseen that this would have consequences for the team, for his family? 

He has been thinking and thinking, and he can’t come up with a solution that will work for everyone. It makes him antsy. He knows he has fucked up, and he wants more than anything to make it right, but he can’t think of a single thing he can do - except one.

He sighs. The doorbell announces Hotch, and he lets him in and pours them drinks. They sit quietly for a while, before Hotch says, “I talked to the deputy director of the NSA today. They have a job there that Reid is interested in.”

Dave just looks at him, in shock. “What?”

Hotch looks back, and takes a sip of his scotch.

Dave makes up his mind - he knew before that this was the only thing he could do for Spencer and the team, but now he’s sure. “Don’t let him, Aaron. The BAU is his family. Tell him I’ll retire. Don’t let him, please.”

“It’s your family too, Dave,” Aaron says steadily, and Dave knows he’s right. “Yeah, but I’ll survive.” he says, “Spencer shouldn’t have to.”

“I don’t know if you want to talk about it at all, Dave, but what the hell happened?” Aaron tries to be a good friend, Dave knows. As unit chief, he must be fuming about Dave putting the team at risk, but he’s not his unit chief right now.

“I fucked up,” he says, truthfully, and when Aaron asks, “Can’t you fix it? Reid’s not unreasonable,” he feels surprise tears sting in the corners of his eyes. 

“I-” he tries. “No, I don’t think so. I hurt him, he’s incandescently angry with me. And he’s right. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.” He takes a few sips of scotch to hide how close to tears he really is.

He should have known that Hotch is too good a profiler and too good a friend not to notice. 

“Jesus, Dave, I had no idea it was that serious.”

Dave sighs and says, “It wasn’t meant to be. It just - it had a life of its own. I don’t know.”

“Then why did you end it? I assume that’s what happened.” Aaron looks at him with warmth in his eyes, and it’s all Dave can do not to cry.

“Because I’m an idiot. I was worried about the age difference. We grew close so quickly, he’s like a bloody force of nature, and - I just didn’t want him to end up unhappy. It’s okay _now_ , but what if we stayed together and ten, twenty years went by?”

“Then you would have dealt with things then. Yeah, you’re an idiot,” Aaron says affectionately and squeezes his shoulder. 

“I didn’t realize, I honestly didn’t -” he starts, and has to stop talking before things get embarrassing. 

“That you were in love?” Aaron asks, and Dave can only nod. 

“This is worse than any divorce,” he whispers, and Aaron gets up and refills their drinks. 

“What’s your plan then, to never talk to him again?” Aaron asks as he puts Dave’s glass in front of him. 

Dave snorts despite himself. “Something like that, yeah. He won’t talk to me, Aaron, not right now. I can try, but I’d rather wait until - I don’t know.”

“I don’t want you to retire.” Aaron says quietly. “We need your experience, your skill, and you’re right that the team is a family. You’re a part of it. We need you, Dave.”

Dave impatiently wipes away a tear that makes an unwanted appearance. “Can I take some personal time?” he asks, and Aaron nods at once and says, “As much time as you need. Just don’t make any hasty decisions.”

“I won’t,” Dave promises. “I could write some. I don’t know.” He looks at Aaron and says, “I can’t even cook.”

Aaron says, “Yeah, I was wondering about that. Did you cook together?”

“Yeah,” Dave says quietly. “I just - I can’t right now.”

“It’ll come back,” Aaron says softly. “After Haley left, I had the same problem. We always had fun deciding which stories to read to Jack, even when he was very small. It’s just something we always planned and did together, and it ripped me apart to do it without her.”

Dave nodded. “Yeah. I’m glad it came back. It’s hard to believe in that right now.”

“I understand. I’ll remind you.” Aaron smiles. 

They order food not long after that, and Dave actually enjoys having Aaron there, talking about everything and nothing at all. After a longish discussion of soccer tactics for Jack’s team’s next match, Aaron stretches and announces that he will make his way home. 

Dave sleeps in a guest room that night. He hasn’t washed the sheets yet, they will smell like Spencer. He can’t bear sleeping in them, and he can’t bear changing them. Yet.

************************

Dave tries to get over Spencer. Right now it feels impossible, but he knows that time will hopefully dull the pain and let him move on. Aaron comes by whenever he doesn’t have Jack, and it helps to have a friend who knows. 

Sometimes he hears from the rest of the team, but never from Spencer or JJ. Dave knows that JJ would be the one Spencer would trust with his pain, and he doesn’t want to mess things up between the two of them. 

The weeks go by, and he actually manages to find some small joy in his writing. It doesn’t dull the pain much, but it gives him something to do. 

He still isn’t cooking, and the sheets are still not changed. 

Aaron starts, slowly and quietly, to drop hints about coming back to work. Dave knows he’s right, at some point he has to face Spencer again. He just has no idea how. 

One day he decides to rip off the band aid and tells Aaron that he will be back the following week. The weekend before he’s due at work he frets and thinks up scenario after scenario, each one worse than the last. 

*******************

When he arrives at the BAU that Monday, everything is fairly uncomplicated. Spencer stares at a point above Dave’s left shoulder and gives a curt nod. JJ does the same at round table a few minutes later. Morgan is friendlier, but not as welcoming as he normally would be, and Dave can’t blame him - he hurt his little brother. Aaron, Garcia and Emily seem to be genuinely happy to see him, and Emily’s hug warms him more than he wants to admit. 

They’re off on a case in California that same day, and as long as they’re on the plane, everything’s fine. Hotch sends him and Emily to one crime scene, Morgan and JJ to the other, and sets up at the police station with Spencer. 

The problems start when he and Emily get back to the station, and Hotch orders them to help with cross referencing the paperwork. Spencer will not talk to him even when he has a direct question, and after a couple of desperate glances from Dave, Hotch sends Spencer away to work with the geographical profile. 

Hotch looks grim, and Dave understands him only too well. What if he really has broken the team beyond repair?

They fly back the next day after finding the victim alive and taking the unsub into custody. Dave is sitting across from Emily, who is fast asleep. Spencer is reading, of course -Dave can see the back of his head bowed over his book. He suddenly remembers them before their first time in the restroom, the stolen glances and small smiles. How can he still miss him this much?

**********************

As soon as they’re at the BAU again, Hotch asks Dave and Spencer into his office. Dave has a bad feeling about the whole thing, and Spencer looks his most stubborn. 

Hotch leans on his desk when they’ve both sat down and says, “Look, I know you’re both miserable and in pain. I understand that, but it can’t affect the team like it did today. You need to be able to talk to each other and be professional. I won’t threaten to reassign you because I know _you_ would just volunteer.” He glares at Dave who ducks his head - it’s not like Hotch is wrong. “Anyway, I need you to reach a solution, now. I expect you to talk to each other, and I don’t think that’s too much to ask. I’ll be in your office, Dave, when you’re finished.” He gets up and leaves without looking back. 

They’re sitting in silence, Spencer staring at Hotch’s desk and Dave staring at Spencer. He looks as though he hasn’t slept for weeks. His hair is tangled, black circles under his eyes. Dave sighs. 

“Hotch is right, you know. I will apply for reassignment, or retire, for that matter, if that’s what you need.”

Spencer rubs his eyes and finally looks at Dave. “I don’t know what I need. If Hotch wants us to talk, I’ll talk. Not that it will lead to anything, but whatever.” 

Dave tries, “I know you’re angry with me. I know it’s what I deserve. Don’t let it destroy the team, Spencer. Surely we can come to a place where we can work together?”

Spencer looks at him with bright eyes. “You have no idea how much this _hurts_.”

“I do,” Dave says quietly, and Spencer launches himself out of his chair with a “Fuck this!” and stalks out of the room. 

A minute later, Aaron looks in and closes the door behind him when he sees that Dave is alone. 

“Reid made a beeline for the rest room. I take it that this didn’t go too well?”

“He’s hurt, Aaron. I mean it, if this doesn’t work out, I’ll retire,” Dave says softly, feeling a lot like crying. 

Hotch exhales loudly and says, “Dammit, Dave, I’m really trying to avoid that, but-“

Dave waves a hand. “It’s not your fault, Aaron. You’re responsible for the team, and the team has to come first. I know that.”

“I’ll give you one more case. If that doesn’t work out, we’ll have to talk.”

Dave nods in agreement and walks back to his office, where he sits and thinks about Spencer trusting him so easily and completely, and how he somehow managed to thoroughly destroy all of that. 

**********************

Their next case is local. They soon know that the unsub is probably law enforcement or military, and when one of the local LEOs storms into the conference room with his gun drawn, a hundred things start to happen at once - Dave just manages to push Spencer out of the line of fire, and he hears three shots fired before everything goes black.

**********************

He fades in and out of consciousness for some time. It feels like days, and it’s uncomfortable not knowing how long it has been going on. Dave tries to wake up, there’s something he has to check, something important, but he can’t quite manage. 

He can hear voices - there are several he doesn’t know, but most of all, there’s Aaron and Spencer. He knows he loves them both, but only Spencer’s voice makes his heart beat faster. He’s in pain, and the only thing that can soothe him is that voice. He hasn’t heard it talk quietly, intimately, in such a long time. 

When he’s almost awake, he can feel a hand on his, a hand he hasn’t felt in forever. He tries to move his head, but it doesn’t want to do what he tells it to yet. His eyes flutter open, and at the same time he makes out Aaron’s eyes on him, the pressure on his hand disappears.

“Hey, welcome back,” Aaron says softly, with a relieved smile. 

“Hey,” Dave says, voice hoarse. What was the important thing - “Is Spencer okay?”

Aaron puts a hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving too much and says, “He’s fine. He’s been in here the entire time, he hasn’t left your side. He’s just telling the nurse that you’re awake.”

Dave’s head falls back on the pillow and he lets out a relieved sigh. 

“Also, in case you’re wondering at all, you had a through and through to the shoulder and another to the abdomen, but nothing important got hurt, apparently. They just did a laparotomy to look around. No one else got hurt, Morgan took him down directly.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Dave says, feeling overwhelmingly sleepy. 

At that moment, Spencer comes in with a nurse in tow. She tells him once again what they have done and what to expect for the next few days. Dave is glad Aaron seems to be listening because all he can do is stare at Spencer. He looks even worse for wear, and Dave remembers that Aaron said he’d been there the entire time - how long was that?

When the nurse is gone, Spencer slides back into his chair next to the bed. Dave can barely keep his eyes open, but he looks at him as long as he can, happy that he’s still there. 

*******************

The next time he wakes up, he can feel Spencer’s eyes on him. He turns his head and sees him watching him, and after a few seconds, Spencer says, “Please don’t believe this means that I’m not angry anymore.”

Dave shakes his head faintly and says, “I’m just glad you’re not hurt.”

Spencer’s glance softens. “Yeah, thanks to you,” he says quietly. 

“Anything for you, caro,” Dave murmurs and falls asleep again.

********************

Spencer is gone when he wakes up the next morning. The nurse tells him that the team has been called away on a case and that Aaron will check in with him later. Dave spends some utterly, breathtakingly boring days at the hospital - they get more boring as he is tapered off the pain meds, and when he thinks his brain will surely wither and die soon, Aaron turns up to get him home. 

He tells him all about the case in the car, a fairly easy story, and when Dave carefully asks if Spencer has been alright, Aaron snorts. “I swear, between you asking me how he is and him asking me how you are, I don’t have time for anything else.”

Dave perks up and asks, surprised, “He’s asking about me?”

“After every time I called you,” Aaron says. 

“Oh,” Dave says, wonderingly, and in his head he hears Spencer’s voice telling him not to forget that he’s still angry.

“You should talk to him again,” Aaron suggests, but Dave shakes his head and says, because he instinctively knows it’s right, “It has to come from him, Aaron.”

“Okay,” Aaron replies, and takes a right towards the mansion. Once they’re there, he takes Dave’s go bag out of the trunk and Dave lets them in. 

“Garcia ordered groceries, so if there’s strange stuff in your fridge, it’s not my fault.” Aaron grins.

“I will tell her thank you, no matter what I find.” Dave says, and he means it. 

**************************

The doctor prescribed six weeks of sick leave, and Aaron isn’t letting Dave come back to work one day earlier than that. He’s going stir crazy at home, though writing helps a bit.

Thankfully, he’s feeling better every day, but he’s still bored out of his skull without work. The Friday night before the Monday he’s due back at work it’s raining hard when the doorbell rings. Dave raises an eyebrow and goes to look through the window by the door. He’s shocked to see a dripping form and opens the door immediately, revealing Spencer, who is wet through and through and shivering violently. 

Dave just looks at him for a minute, and when Spencer doesn’t say anything, he says, “God, Spencer, get inside before you catch pneumonia or something.”

Spencer stays where he is, arms crossed against the cold, and finally asks, “When you said anything for me, did you mean it?”

“What?” Dave asks, lost.

“You said, “Anything for you, caro,” at the hospital. Maybe you don’t remember.” Spencer’s voice is trembling, and all Dave wants is to get him inside and under a blanket.

“Oh, yes, I do. And yes, I meant it,” Dave says truthfully. 

“I need - I want to trust you again,” Spencer says quietly. Dave almost can’t make out the words over the noise of the falling rain. 

“Spencer,” Dave says softly, and Spencer looks at him. “I’d do anything to make that happen.”

“Really?” 

“Yes,” Dave says, never breaking eye contact. “Can you come in, caro?”

Spencer shrugs and takes a step forward, and Dave steps aside to let him into the house. 

He closes the door behind them and asks, “How long have you been standing out there?”

Spencer replies, all the while dripping on the floor, “A while. I needed to think.” He kicks off his sneakers and Dave’s brain kicks in. 

“Go take a shower, and take some towels out of the linen closet, the ones in the ensuite haven’t been changed in a while. All your stuff is still there. I’ll make you something warm to drink.”

“Okay,” Spencer says quietly, and shuffles up the stairs.

Dave busies himself with making hot chocolate, the homemade kind he knows Spencer loves. He melts the chocolate and whips the milk into it, and he tries not to panic or think about what the hell this means. The goal is to get Spencer warm. He adds a deliberate amount of Bailey’s to the concoction and prepares the whipped cream. Spencer’s mug gets a handful of marshmallows. God knows how he can stand so much sweetness at once, Dave wonders, smiling. He carries the mugs to the couch table and gets the purple fleece blanket Spencer has always liked out of the hall closet. 

He hears Spencer come down the stairs and looks up, seeing that he’s wearing an old pair of sweatpants and a hoodie that Dave got him at the Modern History Museum. Dave’s chest aches with a sudden memory of Spencer on weekend mornings, stumbling sleepily down the stairs in search of coffee.

Spencer cuddles down into the corner of the couch with his blanket. He hums when he sees the mug on the table, and snags it to smell it. He closes his eyes in pleasure and smiles a little before taking a first sip. Dave watches breathlessly.

He sits down at the other end of the couch and waits. Spencer murmurs, “‘s good,” and Dave says, “Good, I’m glad.”

He drinks his own drink and lets Spencer enjoy his. After a few minutes, Spencer says quietly, “I’m not good at this, Dave.”

“Welcome to the club,” Dave chuckles in spite of himself, and Spencer smiles. 

“I still don’t know what I need,” Spencer says, and Dave’s heart is close to bursting just from having him on this couch again, talking. 

“I meant what I said, Spencer. Anything, as soon as you know what that is,” Dave says steadily.

“The things you said -” Spencer gets a faraway, hurt look in his eyes that makes Dave want to hold him close. “It was because of the age difference?”

Dave swallows. “Yeah. I had been thinking about it since we - since things started. It just took over one day. I should have told you long before that, I know that. I’m so sorry, caro, I didn’t -”

“I don’t mind it.” Spencer shrugs, looking him in the eyes. “I really don’t. It doesn’t feel like there’s much of a difference when we’re together, and that’s all I care about. Is it a dealbreaker for you?”

“No,” Dave says quickly, because there really, really is no such thing. 

“Are you sure?” Spencer’s eyes stay on his, and Dave says, slowly, “I’m more than sure.”

Spencer smiles, and Dave wants to be so much closer. He grips his mug so tight that his knuckles turn white. 

Spencer yawns suddenly, and says, “I’m sleepy.”

It’s Dave’s turn to smile, and he says, with hope blooming in his chest, “Stay the night. I’ll make pancakes for breakfast.”

“Okay,” Spencer says, already half asleep. Dave goes upstairs and quickly gets one of the guest rooms ready. When he gets downstairs again, Spencer has stretched out on the couch and is snoring softly. Dave’s hand itches to run through Spencer’s still-damp curls, but instead he puts a hand on his shoulder, the contact burning brightly through him. 

“Spencer,” he says softly. 

Spencer opens his eyes slowly and gives him a dazzling smile. “Hi,” he says sleepily, and Dave thinks he will just burst with love, never to be seen again. 

“Hey, caro,” he says, “time to get to bed.”

“Mkay,” Spencer hums, and gets up from the couch. He follows Dave up the stairs and all but falls into bed.

“I’ll be next door,” Dave tells Spencer, and Spencer nods once and closes his eyes. “Sleep tight,” Dave whispers and closes the door behind him. He’s wondering if he’ll get any sleep tonight.

**********************

He doesn’t, it turns out. His mind is full of Spencer, of the thought that he is only a room away. In his house. Under his roof. He wishes he could go over there and fall into bed with him, and show him just how deeply he has fallen for him. He doesn’t know how to describe that with words. He doesn't write those kinds of books. 

********************

Dave spends the rest of the night writing. When he can see the sun come up, he starts to prepare breakfast. He makes pancakes and keeps them warm in the oven while he starts on the bacon. Humming, he suddenly notices that he’s cooking and enjoying it. He smiles to himself and starts the coffee. He pulls the sugar out from the cupboard above and puts it next to the coffee machine for Spencer to find. 

Not much later, he can hear Spencer coming down the stairs. He doesn’t bother with niceties, he knows they’re lost on Spencer before coffee. Spencer walks almost blindly towards the coffee machine, his hair on end, and pours himself a mug. He makes an appreciative noise when he finds the sugar already in place, and shovels spoon after spoon into his coffee. When he’s finished, he takes a deep swallow and sighs. 

“Morning,” he says, blinking at Dave, who finds the whole display rather adorable.

“Good morning,” he replies, taking a sip of his own coffee. “There are pancakes in the oven,” he offers, while he piles the bacon onto a plate.

Spencer looks into the oven, sighs, “Hmmmm, chocolate chip,” and returns with the plate to the breakfast bar. 

He sits where he always used to sit, with his back to the living room, and Dave takes the chair opposite him. This all seems so normal, it has a bit of a twilight zone feel.

They eat breakfast quietly, and when Spencer is almost finished with his pancakes, he says, “Haven’t you been sleeping in the master for all this time?”

Dave keeps his eyes on his plate. He would ask “Why?” but he knows that Spencer remembers exactly where everything was the day he left, and can tell that both the master and the ensuite are undisturbed. 

“Yeah, I couldn’t.”

There’s a pause, until Spencer says quietly, “So when you said that you knew, you meant it.”

“Hm?” Dave makes, and Spencer says, “When I said in Hotch’s office that you didn’t know how much it hurt, and you said you did.”

“I know how much it hurt for me. I haven’t hurt like this in a very, very long time.”

Spencer nods. “Yeah. Me neither.” He bites a piece off a strip of bacon. “I should change clothes.”

“I put the ones you wore yesterday into the dryer,” Dave says, trying hard not to get whiplash from the abrupt change of topic.

“Thank you,” Spencer smiles at him and takes off upstairs again.

Dave feels confused, and has no idea what will happen next. Maybe Spencer wants to drive home? He busies himself with doing the dishes until Spencer makes an appearance again, this time in jeans and a lavender shirt. Dave looks at him an extra second, because Spencer in that color is almost too much. 

“You should have left that for me,” Spencer says, nodding towards the dishes drying on the counter. 

“Oh, it’s no problem,” Dave says. 

They look at each other for a minute and Spencer bites his lip. “I think I know now,” he says quietly, and Dave asks, “What?”

“What I need. From you.” Spencer studies the floor tiles.

Dave takes a step closer and says, just as quietly, “Anything. Tell me.”

“I need to know if you’re in love with me the way I’m in love with you.” He looks at Dave, and Dave can see what it costs him, being open and vulnerable for him. 

Dave is dumbfounded, and without thinking, he spreads his hands and says, “I’ve never been in love like this, caro.”

Spencer closes his eyes and swallows, and Dave takes another step and, carefully, takes Spencer’s hand in his. Spencer’s fingers interlace with his like they’re meant to do, and Spencer says, “We will talk. About the age thing. And you will never, _ever_ spring something like that on me again.” 

“I promise,” Dave says, and he’s never been more serious in his life. “God, Spencer, if you come back to me, I swear we’ll talk things out and we’ll make it right.”

His breath hitches and Spencer’s eyes are wet when he draws Dave in, and shortly before their lips meet, Spencer whispers, “Then I’ll come back to you,” and their kiss is like an explosion of joy deep inside Dave’s chest. 

Dave’s hand, the one that isn’t currently holding Spencer’s, lands in Spencer’s hair, as it usually does, and Dave can’t get over being allowed to feel Spencer like this again, hot and wet and _his_. When they stop kissing they’re both breathing hard, and Spencer’s smile goes all the way to his eyes. 

“I’ve missed you, so much,” he says, and Dave thinks he might evaporate from happiness. “You too,” he says softly and kisses Spencer again, their tongues tangling slowly.

Spencer tugs at their intertwined hands and starts walking towards the stairs. Dave follows, would have followed him anywhere really, but the bedroom seems good right now. He tries to explain that there will be dust, and shouldn’t they use one of the guest rooms, but Spencer scoffs and rips off the comforter and says, “This is our bed. No more of that guest room nonsense.” Dave thinks, oh god, _our bed_ , yes, and before he knows it they’re both in it. 

They take each other’s clothes off, slowly, between kisses, and this is somehow nothing like before. It’s as though Dave feels for the first time what the skin under Spencer’s collarbone tastes like, what it feels like to bite him there, to soothe the nip with his tongue. 

Spencer is writhing next to him, trying to get them out of their jeans and underwear, and when they’re finally naked, Dave knows what he needs. 

He gives Spencer the lube and says, “You, please, caro,” breathlessly, and somehow, Spencer understands exactly what he means. 

“What about this?” Spencer asks, his fingertips ghosting over the fresh scar on his abdomen. 

“Doesn’t hurt. I’ll tell you if it does,” Dave breathes, and Spencer nods. “Okay,” he says softly and kisses him there, an odd feeling on the still oversensitive skin, and Dave squirms and moans. 

“God, you drive me insane,” Spencer says, and Dave has just enough time to think that that’s entirely mutual before he feels Spencer’s fingertip sliding inside him. It’s been a long time since he’s done this and he holds his breath, but there is no pain. He feels full immediately and doesn’t really know how that will work out, but he’s more than willing to try. 

“Breathe,” Spencer tells him, sweetly, and Dave takes a deep breath. “That’s it, darling,” Spencer murmurs and adds another finger, scissoring them in and out, opening Dave up. Spencer crooks his fingers and finds Dave’s prostate, and Dave thinks that there’s no way he’s going to be able to wait until Spencer is inside him if he keeps this up. He groans, his back arching off the bed, sparks of pleasure erupting all over his skin. Spencer hums and hits the same spot again and again, until Dave is babbling in Italian and every touch is pure pleasure.

He’s sweating and bearing down on Spencer’s fingers when Spencer tells him, “This will be easiest on your injury with you on hands and knees,” and Dave protests immediately, needing to see Spencer’s face, needing to touch him and have him as close as possible. “Okay, okay,” Spencer soothes him, “That’s what I thought,” and he smiles down at him and kisses him again. 

Dave could kiss him all day and night long; he has never had kisses like this, this devastating feeling that he might as well die if he can’t have another right now. 

There’s a break where Dave wonders where Spencer has gone, and when he looks, he’s sitting between Dave’s legs and is lubing himself up, stroking himself and watching Dave with dark eyes. Dave groans at the sight of him and lets his head fall back onto the pillow, and a second later, he can feel Spencer pressing into him. 

“God, Dave, _so tight_ ,” Spencer moans as he moves slowly inside him, and Dave feels so full that he doesn’t really know what to do with himself. He has the urge to squirm and get away, and when it gets too much, Spencer miraculously takes a break until he has calmed down. “It’s okay,” Spencer whispers in his ear, and Dave nods, because it is, it is so much better than okay. 

“Do you need me to wait?” Spencer asks when he’s finally all the way inside, his hair falling into his eyes, sweat pearling on his forehead. 

“No, caro, _please_ ,” Dave all but keens, and Spencer closes his eyes for a second. He starts moving slowly, and Dave thinks he will surely come within seconds just from looking at Spencer’s face. He tucks a few rogue curls behind Spencer’s ear and presses the fingers of his other hand into Spencer’s hip. He feels when Spencer moves inside him again, and he tries to make him move faster, harder, but he has no leverage like this. 

It takes an agonizingly long time full of pleasure until Spencer is all the way inside him again, and the groan they both give at that tells Dave that Spencer is just as far gone as he is. 

“Darling, I need,” Spencer pants, and Dave breathes, “Oh god, please,” and Spencer looks at him with wild eyes and the next time he pulls out of him he slams back in, hitting Dave’s prostate on the way, and Dave thinks he’s gone to heaven. 

He pulls Spencer’s face towards his on his next stroke and kisses him hotly, and Spencer moans into the kiss beautifully, fucking into Dave again and again. 

They sound obscene, groaning and gasping, and Dave thinks he will surely die of want every time his cock slides against Spencer’s stomach. He really won’t be able to hold on much longer, he can feel pleasure spiking deep in his belly and knows that he’s so close. 

“Caro,” he says desperately, “need more, _harder_ , let go for me,” and Spencer gives him a strangled, “ _Fuck_ , Dave,” before he does let go and pounds into Dave without restraint. Dave kisses him for a last time, sloppily, before he lets his head hit the pillow and gives up on trying to wait.

He lets the pleasure wash over him, hears Spencer moaning above him, and when he hits Dave’s prostate again Dave is right _there_ , pulsing between their bodies with a shout while Spencer fucks him through his orgasm, watching him with hungry eyes. His eyes don’t leave Spencer’s, they can’t, he’s mesmerizing to watch. He’s still fucking into Dave at a cruel pace, and Dave smiles at him and says, between gasps, “That’s it, let me see you,” and Spencer explodes with a groan that echoes from the walls and empties himself into Dave, moaning helplessly. 

He crashes on top of Dave who tangles their legs together and cradles Spencer’s head to his shoulder. He runs a hand through Spencer’s curls and whispers, “You’re amazing,” and feels Spencer’s lips curl into a smile against his skin. “You are,” he says, and Dave smiles and looks at the ceiling and wonders when he last felt like this. 

Spencer arranges himself around him, his head still on Dave’s shoulder, and Dave manages to whisper, “Love you,” into his hair before he is out like a light.

When he wakes up, Spencer is doodling patterns on his chest with his finger. He looks up at him when Dave moves and smiles. 

“Hey there.”

“Hi,” Dave says and smiles back, and Spencer pushes himself up on his elbow and says, “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Spencer says, and his smile goes straight to his eyes. “I love you, too.”

Dave feels a pang in his chest as though he might start crying. He swallows and says, “Come here,” and when Spencer does, he kisses him like his life depends on it. 

Later on, they change the sheets together.

********************

Dave is feeling a bit of deja vu, coming back to the BAU on a Monday again, but this time he’s holding Spencer’s hand in the elevator like a teenager. He slips his hand out of Spencer’s grasp when the elevator dings, and they walk into the bullpen together. They’re early, and it seems as though the others are either not here yet or getting coffee in the kitchen. 

Spencer stops at his desk and keeps Dave from walking towards his office by holding on to his sleeve. Dave looks back at him questioningly and Spencer smiles, pulls him in and kisses him softly. Dave doesn’t do short kisses with Spencer, he hasn’t learned how to yet, so he licks into Spencer’s mouth and moans quietly when their tongues meet. 

They stay there, kissing, for a while, until Dave hears a cough behind Spencer’s back and looks up and sees the team standing there, clutching their coffee mugs and staring. Aaron gives him a grin and announces, “We have a case in Maryland, conference in five,” and Dave presses his lips against Spencer’s again before he walks up the stairs to his office. 

It’s going to be a good day.

**********************


End file.
